TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › Suggestions for hairballs
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Suggestions for hairballs

post #1 of 26
11/2/10 at 8:42pm
Thread Starter 
OK -a couple of my boys suffer from time to time and I have varying degrees of success dosing them with Laxatone or Hartz Salmon Flavored hairball grease.

I also have varying levels of success brushing them, though I now have a couple of Zoom-Groom converts.

Unfortunately, the ones who have the most trouble with the hairballs are the ones I have to chase down or sneak up on and whammy them with the stuff.

I have had a couple of them yak up a little yellowish looking fluid or partially digested food packed with hair.

I have seen poo on occasion packed with hair, too.

With seven cats of varying temperaments... I am always looking for "passive delivery systems"....

Can anyone recommend stuff I can add to their food to help them along? I don't like mineral oil b/c I know it can affect GI absorption.

Also - given my schedule, it is impossible to give them HB treatment and wait an hour or two to feed them.
Reply
post #2 of 26
11/2/10 at 8:45pm
Tabitha is about 9 years old, maybe 10ish? Anyways, next best thing to feral. She quite literally lived in my closet for many months. I can touch her, on her terms. But man, I'd hate to piss her off or be holding her when she freaks out!

She has hairball problems, like 2 - 5 per day! My solution? Premium Edge Senior/Hairball Formula. It's a part of her diet, I mix in another dry food. I think you may have some food issues in your household, but I figure it's worth throwing it out there.
Reply
post #3 of 26
11/2/10 at 8:47pm
Butter... I use mineral oil per the vet for the stubborn ones
Reply
post #4 of 26
11/2/10 at 8:48pm
A fiber supplement in their wet food along with fish oil is probably your most hands off method. Other than that, keep trying to brush everyone.
Reply
post #5 of 26
11/2/10 at 8:53pm
I've had great luck with Professional Choice Hairball Control (dry food) Of course there are many more hairballs to clean up, but I would much rather have them on the rug then in kitties stomachs. I mix this feed with their regular kibble
Reply
post #6 of 26
11/2/10 at 8:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
I've had great luck with Professional Choice Hairball Control (dry food) Of course there are many more hairballs to clean up, but I would much rather have them on the rug then in kitties stomachs. I mix this feed with their regular kibble
Do you have a link MA... I have heard of it but it is unavail in my area
Reply
post #7 of 26
11/2/10 at 9:10pm
Thread Starter 
I have one puker - Tex. Vastly improved when I monitor the speed and volume of his intake.

I have one cat with irritable bowel-type symptoms - cleared up with a largely grain free diet.

I brush/comb several times a week. recently intro'd a Zoom Groom and had reluctant Jake and scaredy Ghost purring and drooling.

It seems to be much more of an issue spring and fall.

It's not as though I am tip-toeing through a minefield of hairballs. If one of the boys so much as coughs, he gets a glob o' stuff. I have had to clean up 2-3 small to med. hairballs in the last couple of weeks. And a little bit of that yellowy stuff. Remember -I have SEVEN kitties.

I feed Taste of the Wild; and each cat gets approx 2-3 ounces of slightly watered down wet every day.

They do like Temptations hairball treats. I could go back to that.

Just hesitant to put more grain back into the diet for Archie's sake- which is the case with hairball dry - right? It also ramps up the gas factor in my place with several of the guys.

It's funny - Arch is the medium coated cat... and he seems to have fewer issues than the SH'd ones. Course- he loooooooves to be brushed and combed so it is NO problem at all to groom him.

@ strange-wings - I tried fish oil... it rec'd a lukewarm response, in particular from Rex, who is one of the problems. He has a very plush, dense short coat. Would some other type of oil work, such as safflower, olive or flax seed???
Reply
post #8 of 26
11/2/10 at 10:34pm
Olive works ... flax would work
Reply
post #9 of 26
11/2/10 at 10:44pm
Hairballs are so gross. Parker used to throw up the huge ones...like almost wiener length. Yuck! He lets me brush him a bit, but usually ends up attacking the brush after a minute or two when he decides he's had enough. My vet gave me Tonic-Lax and since I've been giving it to him like she told me, I haven't seen a big hairballs like that in ages. He still coughs up the occasional tiny one...but much better than the big ones.
Reply
post #10 of 26
11/3/10 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, everyone. I am going to try butter and/or olive oil... since I have those things handy... I cannot imagine the boys would turn down butter! LOL!

I was thinking safflower b/c it is also high in linolineic acid -good for skin and coat, yes? Their coats and skin are good - Rex's is a little bit more dry than the others. And it does get worse in winter for all of them with the furnace running.

I have noticed that the Z-G gets up dander.. I am hoping, too, that the ZG will be good for the skin b/c it kinda massages it.
Reply
post #11 of 26
11/3/10 at 7:57am
Will your cats just eat the butter? I tried mixing it into some Fancy Feast that Sable loves when he first came, but it was a "no way".
Reply
post #12 of 26
11/3/10 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kody's Mom View Post
Will your cats just eat the butter? I tried mixing it into some Fancy Feast that Sable loves when he first came, but it was a "no way".
all four will... actually never met one who did not ...
Reply
post #13 of 26
11/3/10 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
Do you have a link MA... I have heard of it but it is unavail in my area

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-F...812990&sr=1-14


My local feed store convinced me to use this-and I am glad I listened.
Reply
post #14 of 26
11/3/10 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
http://www.amazon.com/Professional-F...812990&sr=1-14


My local feed store convinced me to use this-and I am glad I listened.
Thank you ... looks solid..
Reply
post #15 of 26
11/3/10 at 1:34pm
Sharky--do you put out a pat(how big?) on a plate, that hasn't worked for me?
Reply
post #16 of 26
11/3/10 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kody's Mom View Post
Sharky--do you put out a pat(how big?) on a plate, that hasn't worked for me?
One likes it one plate.. the other prefer it on the counter treat style... normally about a 1/4 pat piece each
Reply
post #17 of 26
11/3/10 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the info on the hairball dry, Hissy!
Reply
post #18 of 26
11/3/10 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
Butter... I use mineral oil per the vet for the stubborn ones
Eek, mineral oil? That doesn't seem like a good idea.

They're starting to advise humans not use mineral oil; I can't imagine what it does to cats.
Reply
post #19 of 26
11/3/10 at 11:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lsanders View Post
Eek, mineral oil? That doesn't seem like a good idea.

They're starting to advise humans not use mineral oil; I can't imagine what it does to cats.
It does not sound good... which after some research I had stopped ... but after a talk with the vet I Understand why Mineral oil in a small amount like the 1/2 inch strip of hairball meds works and why it is a better idea than the ones that digest for stubborn hairballs...

Trust me , butter is used first, then oil ( olive or coconut) then the mineral oil( which she said was fine for even my IBD cats, she has a degree in animal nutrition so maybe she knows a few more things ) No I would not use mineral oil continually

Mineral oil by the way is the MAIN component of Many commercial hair ball medicines.. When I say mineral oil I mean a commercial hair ball medicine with it as the main ingredient
Reply
post #20 of 26
11/3/10 at 11:33pm
none of my cats beyond just a lick or two like butter, margarine in any form. The best defense against hairballs is daily grooming. It's funny with a few of my long hairs- they absolutely hate being groomed, but after I use the seam ripper to break out the mats and then brush them and then zoom groom them, they are all over me for hours afterwards in gratitude. It is quite strange, but I think they know that I am helping them because they do get quite matted.
Reply
post #21 of 26
11/4/10 at 3:49am
i have dogs but my sis has llots of cars . . . so i knew some
keep brushing them , and as vet said use oil .
try them to obey you by using there favorite food . its like training your cat
Reply
post #22 of 26
11/4/10 at 9:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
Mineral oil by the way is the MAIN component of Many commercial hair ball medicines.. When I say mineral oil I mean a commercial hair ball medicine with it as the main ingredient
And petroleum jelly, or both together. Laxatone uses both and soybean oil, for example.

My household loves butter so much that I cannot leave it unattended in the kitchen for even a minute. One of them, usually Tomas, will be in it the second my back is turned. He has tried to grab a half a stick and take off with it before... I caught him before he made it out of the kitchen.
Reply
post #23 of 26
11/5/10 at 2:49pm
Thread Starter 
I tried a little unsalted butter today... and it was a hit!! The only really reluctant one was Casper... and after I swiped in his mouth... he went looking for more on the floor... licking up a little dot or two... I then went and got the rest of his dose and he finished it no problem.
Reply
post #24 of 26
11/5/10 at 3:04pm
Opps.. Glad you caught that Unsalted butter.. Glad it was a hit hopefully it will do its job..
Reply
post #25 of 26
11/5/10 at 3:08pm
And if it doesn't, at least its a very popular treat. But now that they've had a taste of it... never leave any unattended butter out.
Reply
post #26 of 26
11/5/10 at 8:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
Opps.. Glad you caught that Unsalted butter.. Glad it was a hit hopefully it will do its job..
I remembered that you said in some previous post - unsalted and frankly... I don't buy any other kind.

If you use it on toast- bread is plenty salt-laden on its own. If you use it to cook, then you salt to taste.

Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
And if it doesn't, at least its a very popular treat. But now that they've had a taste of it... never leave any unattended butter out.
Archie hopped up on the counter and was licking the stick. I will be more careful in the future.

I don't want to be cleaning up buttery puke or diarrhea!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cat Health
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › Suggestions for hairballs